BJP rewards loyalists, Cong renominates Vilasrao

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley and BJP general secretaries Ravi Shankar Prasad, Jagat Prakash Nadda and Dharmen-dra Pradhan are among the candidates nominated by the BJP for elections to the Rajya Sabha.

The Congress has re-nominated Union ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Rajiv Shukla from Maharashtra, and party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi and Narendra Budania from Rajasthan. The axe is likely to fall on a few sitting MPs because the party wants to accommodate senior leaders who are looking for rehabilitation.

Jaitley will contest for another term from Gujarat, while Prasad will get his fourth term from Bihar. Nadda was given the ticket from Himachal Pradesh and Pradhan from Bihar.

While Jaitley’s renomination was a foregone conclusion, the renomination of Prasad is being seen as recognition of his organisational work. Similarly, Nadda and Pradhan were rewarded by party chief Nitin Gadkari for their performance.

Gadkari also rewarded his long-standing business friend Ajay Sancheti of Nagpur, whose name had figured in the Adarsh Society scam, from Maharashtra.

Gadkari also rewarded Faggan Singh Kulaste, a tribal leader who was accused in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam. He was fielded from Madhya Pradesh along with Najma Heptullah, Kaptan Singh Solanki and Thawar Chand Gehlot. Senior BJP leader LK Advani strongly backed Heptullah, who has completed many terms in the Rajya Sabha. BJP vice president Vinay Katiyar also got another term from UP.